Superheroes Collide (All Of Them) In 'Infinity War'
- Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Tom Hiddleston, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Peter Dinklage, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Josh Brolin (and STILL MORE)
- Rated PG-13
- Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- Run time: 2 hr, 29 min
- Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo
- In theaters April 27, 2018
Let's be real. It's the moment Marvel fans have been waiting for. Posters have been analyzed, picked apart, dissected. Trailers were deemed worthy (or unworthy) of this monumental movie experience. And then, it finally came. One thing's for sure: everyone showed up for this thing.
Almost every Marvel character you can think of has at least a singular moment or line in the spotlight. There are a few notable exceptions (poor Hawkeye and Ant-Man must have drawn the short straws) that had been guessed due to poster absences, but the pairings of those who made the cut were incredibly well thought out. Who knew we'd need a Thor + Guardians team-up? A (Sherlock-filled) duo of Doctor Strange and Iron Man? Absolutely. The usual suspects are there, what with Scarlet Witch and Vision, but there's still more as-of-now-unseen combos that we can only hope will come in the second installment of this epic.
The general plot is about on par with other superhero flicks, just as the trailers suggest. Bad guy has a plan, bad guy keeps finding ways to continue with the plan, good guys try to stop said bad guy and hi-jinks ensue. However, when it comes to the more nuanced aspects of this particular hero movie, there's definitely some twists and turns as you go. There's no guarantee the good guy is going to win. There's no guarantee the good guy is even going to survive till the end. And that fact keeps this 2.5 hour film seem fresh the entire time.
Sure, there's a lot going on in this film, but if that is the main complaint...clearly you don't know what you signed up for. It's convoluted for those who aren't familiar with Marvel properties, it's overwhelming for those who don't realize it's an ensemble movie that was a decade in the making and it's disappointing to those who forget there's a whole second part coming to basically make this a 5 hour movie.
Is it a masterpiece? Maybe not. But considering how much the Russo brothers had to wrangle into one film, I say this is probably the best attempt in the galaxy.